The Collection of Mathematical Models of Marburg University

Prof. Dr. habil. Ilka Agricola

Philipps-Universität Marburg

May 2017, Universität Hannover

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 Marburg: An old traditional university. . .

• Founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (he embraced Protestantism

in 1524 after a personal meeting with Philipp Melanchthon)

• oldest protestant university in the world

• hosted the ‘Marburg Colloquy’ (‘Marburger Religionsgespräch’) in 1529,

attended by: Luther, Zwingli, Melanchthon, Agricola, Brenz, Bucer, Osian-
der. . .
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The university owns 6 museums, 2 botanical gardens, and 26 scientific
collections, including

• Deutscher Sprachatlas

• Dt. Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte – Bildarchiv Foto Marburg

• Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg, Lichtbildarchiv älterer Originalurkunden

• Emil-von-Behring-Archiv

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 Museum für Kunst Antikelsammlung Karzer Museum Anatonicum
und Kulturgeschichte

Problems & questions :

• the university lacks staff, budget, PR (compared to a state museum)

• huge amount of valuable exhibits, some in very poor condition, scattered all
around the city in ‘Faculty Collections’

• what is the purpose of each scientific collection?

• how to achieve visibility & legitimacy?

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 An old Faculty. . . in an ugly new building

Gallery of former professors ‘Mehrzweckgebäude’, domicile of Faculty

of mathematics and Collection on Lahnberge since 1970

Moves are the most important natural enemy of any collection!

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 Das ‘Mathematische Seminar’
Mathematics was taught in Marburg since the foundation of the university
1527 (Papin, Wolff. . . ).

• 1817: Foundation of the ‘Mathematisch-

physikalisches Institut’ by Christian Gerling
• 1885: Foudation of the Faculty by H. We-
ber (‘normal subgroups’, thm of Kronecker-Weber on
algebraic number fields)
• The Collection of Mathematical Models was
founded (or rather, separated from the Physical
Collection) and slowly enlarged
• The university had then about 1 000 stu-
dents, mathematics: 10–30 students. Summer
1904: approx. 75 students.
• A few plaster and cardboard models are still
preserved from this time
• With Bourbaki, the Collection was dissolved
and partially destroyed around 1960 5
 After decades of decline: A new start in 2008

The decision to revive the Collection and its first ‘budget’ were part of my
negotiations for the appointment of full professor in 2008.

Situation:
• no inventory, no show cases
• a few models scattered around in the library,
storerooms, offices, homes. . .
• some experience from my reconstruction of
the Collection of Humboldt University

Quotes from 2008:

What Collection are you talking about?“ — You mean the old dust catchers
” ”
in the library, what do you want with them?“ — Yes, we used to have a lot,
”
but I think it got lost.“

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First steps: Gathering together & executing small repairs
A ruled surface

before after

Schilling models from around 1880

quadrics cubic surface with helicoidal surface

four double points A1 of a tractrix
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An example: The story of a an exhibit

What is this and does it still work?

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 An example: The story of a an exhibit

• This is a pantograph ( Storchenschnabel“, Allesschreiber“)

” ”
• yes, it looks complete but it needs serious restoration

• a tiny inscription says Klebe 1866“:

”
• 1866 – this is before the foundation of the Faculty?
• and before the introduction of the Deutsche
”
Industrie-Norm DIN“ (1917), hence the screws are
not standardized 9
 Excursion I: The archive of the
‘Astronomisch-Physikalisches Kabinett’ in Kassel
Here, we found several construction drawings showing an identical instrument:

⇒ the manufacturer was Firma Breithaupt in Kassel, still a small, but

world leading company of precision measurement instruments (founded 1762),
furnisher of Gauß, Gerling et. al. The date 1866 is confirmed, and Breithaupt
had indeed a constructing engineer of the name Klebe in that time.

The instrument turns out to be rather valuable, hence a professional restoration

is indicated – how did it join the Faculty of Mathematics? 10
 Excursion II: The archive of Marburg University
In order to find out more about the history of all old exhibits, an assistant
digs through the old account books of the Faculty, and finds:

• 1932: Purchase of a few used instruments from the Faculty of Physics and
the Faculty of Geography, amongst others, a Breithaupt pantograph and two
Breithaupt theodolites.

In his account on the 100th birthday of the Faculty, Prof. Karl-Bernhard

Gundlach writes:

Die Ära Hensel war zwar mit seiner Emeritierung im Wintersemester 1928/29
”
zu Ende gegangen, er erhielt aber in seinem Schüler Helmut Hasse einen
würdigen Nachfolger. Hasse, der sein Amt zum 1.4.1930 antrat, konnte die
Einrichtung einer zweiten Assistentenstelle durchsetzen. Auch 400 Mark für
die Beschaffung einer Schreibmaschine wurden ihm zugesagt. Die räumlichen
Verhältnisse blieben jedoch weiter beengt. Hasse mußte sein Arbeitszimmer
offensichtlich mit dem Assistenten teilen, denn in dem Schriftwechsel mit dem
Kurator über die Renovierung wird ausdrücklich ein zweiter Steckkontakt für
den Arbeitsplatz des Assistenten in diesem Zimmer erwähnt. 11
Die allgemeine Dürftigkeit der Ausstattung wird auch durch einen Antrag von
Maximilian Krafft vom 6. Juli 1932 beleuchtet. Krafft führte aus, es gäbe keine
Ausbildungsmöglichkeit in geodätischen und astronomischen Beobachtungs-
methoden. Das physikalische und das geographische Institut hätten jedoch
Instrumente, die zwar größtenteils aus kurhessischer Zeit stammten, aber
nach Instandsetzung noch brauchbar seien. Für die Instandsetzung und einige
Neuanschaffungen beantragte er 535 Mark. In der Tat erhielt das Seminar
eine Reihe älterer Instrumente, von denen besonders ein Breithauptscher Pan-
tograph erwähnt wurde. Durch die Hilfe des Universitätsbundes konnten ein
Sextant und ein Theodolith beschafft werden.“

K.-B. Gundlach, 100 Jahre Mathematisches Seminar – Ein Rückblick auf die Entwicklung
der Mathematik in Marburg

• Maximilian Krafft: professor of ‘applied’ math in Marburg 1926–1956

– meaning geodesy, theoretical astronomy, ‘practical’ calculus (‘praktische
Analysis’); for further anecdotes, see:

https://www.uni-marburg.de/fb12/historie/zeitzeugen/mathe-profs

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 After restoration: Again in use in 2011

About the mathematics (how does it work?): later. Actually, it’s an easy
application of the incidende theorems (‘Strahlensätze’)
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 What is the purpose of the Collection?
One can have many wishes. . . but only limited time and money, and the
purpose should also convince those who don’t like to play.

• Our Collection is not a museum, although it has a few valuable exhibits

• It’s main purpose is to support teaching for students of mathematics, com-

puter science, and physics (bachelor, teaching degree for secondary schools)

Remarks on teaching:

• Mathematics and Computer Science differ from all other natural sciences by
not being laboratory based — after all, the main advantage of mathematics
is its abstraction!

⇒ What can models teach that is not part of normal courses?

• The Collection should be perceived as being an integral part of the Faculty;

in particular, no changes of curricula should be necessary

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 Therefore, the Collection consists mainly of:

• An exhibition in the Faculty — for raising awareness, for a few hands on

activities, and also for having more space in the workshop
• a workshop (‘Werkstatt’) where t.a.’s can work, make repairs, and where
models are stored / can be loaned for courses
• Purchase / construction of exhibits mainly for teaching purposes
• An ever growing online catalogue — for the general public and for our own
lecturers
• the ‘Mathematical Model Seminar’ – this is the most important pillar of
the Collection, with many follow-up activities
• Outreach activities of many kinds

Remarks:

– The Collection is never static, but undergoes permanent changes!

– Involve students as much as possible! It’s for them. . . and you don’t achieve
much without them 15
 The exhibition
What are the most valuable pieces of the exhibition, and those requiring the
largest amount of work?

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 The exhibition
the showcases!
Standard showcases are often not solid and large enough; ‘museum level’ show
cases are usually unaffordable

⇒ need to rely on donations!

RHS: From the Hessisches Landesmu-
seum Kassel.
Together with 3 other showcases,
transportation, repairs (support plat-
form) and new shelves costed approx.
1 500,- EUR
Six people were necesssary to lift this
showcase (without the glas) from the
truck!

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 Foyer of the Faculty
This showcase is now the ‘business card’ of the Faculty:

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 Foyer: Hands on the slide rule – Calculating, part 1

Perfect exhibit: Students and visitors can try out themselves (. . . and they do
it). A reference leads them from the entrance showcase to this object!
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 Foyer: Calculating, part 2

Mechanical computing machines — great for learning: How can one realize
the ‘carry over’ (Zehnerübertrag )? → Seminar!
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 Foyer: Calculating, part 3

LHS: Friden 130 (1966)

earliest all-electronic desktop calcula-
tor, and generally regarded as the first
transistorized electronic calculator
20 kg, price: 6 750 DM
Was repaired by the pc lab of the Hoch-
schulrechenzentrum in February 2017
RHS: Diehl Combitron S (1970),
plus tape puncher / punch tape
reader
25 kg, 10.334,40 DM (incl. software)
• How to explain these in a course?
• took years to get a suitable show case
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 First floor: Calculating, part 4
Some exhibits are so large that they actually don’t need showcases. . .

Telefunken TR 440 (1969), IBM sorter 083 (1958), IBM puncher 129 (1970)

Observe the poster on the wall, made by students in the Model Seminar 22
 Library I

Assorted exhibits from geometry and topology

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 Library II

Breithaupt theodolites and a diopter. The diopter transfers horizontal angles

(roughly) to a map without measuring them, the theodolite gives a a high
precision measurement of angles in any direction 24
 The Model Seminar
Idea: Each group of students selects an exhibit (or something which doesn’t
yet exist). Then, imagination is required: Each 90 minutes presentation is
required to
• explain the mathematics behind the model / instrument, how it works, its
history. . .
• include a practical part in which the fellow students should be doing
something suitable on their own.

After the talk, some kind of elaboration is required, for example:

• a classical essay on the object (these are becoming rare)
• a poster presenting the exhibit; if well done, it will be put on display
• a video explaining the mode of operation of the exhibit

• construction and documentation of a new exhibit

Hence, participating in the Seminar does mean work for students!

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 Goals of the Model Seminar
• to reintroduce some haptic experience into the teaching of mathematics;
this usually increases understanding and intrinsic motivation.
• to teach elements of the history of mathematics and computer science (not
always covered in separate courses)
• to discuss and suggest possible uses of models in secondary schools
• to establish cross connections to other topics: physics (Slinky), chemistry
(crystals, bucky ball), architecture (‘geodesic domes’, quadrics or minimal
surfaces used for roofs. . . )
• to establish the deep link between math and art (Escher, Dürer, da Vinci. . . )
• to appreciate the achievements of ‘mathematical precision mechanics’, and
to learn about analogue measurement techniques (what is a nonius?)
• to make full use of the 3rd dimension or other features not available on a
blackboard / computer screen
• to interact with students from other topics in a very intensive way
• to learn about topics one might not have encountered otherwise 26
 Snapshots from the Model Seminar I

pantographs in action polyhedra how to solve Rubik’s cube

‘Rechentuch’ soap bubbles Slinky walking down stairs

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 Snapshots from the Model Seminar II
Mechanical integration machines are another large part of the collection:

Planimeter (application of Stokes’ thm) integraph

(draws the primitive) harmonic analyzer (computes Fourier coefficients)

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 Instances where the 3rd dimension is valuable
Thm. The group of rotation symmetries of a regular dodecahedron (or
icosahedron) is isomorphic to A5 .

These drawings are almost

impossible on a blackboard!
With two suitable models, the
students can find the solution
in less than 10 minutes.

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 Self-built models I
Exercise: Construct a device drawing cycloids

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Result: perhaps not yet ripe for mass production, but great fun!

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 Self-built models II
Topic: 3-dim. caleidoscopes, mathematically: Weyl chambers of root systems

Challenge: Explain concepts without a course on Lie algebras

Starting point: One prototype. . .

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The new models and their labels are ready (some on the table, with ‘zome
tool’), a show case has been found.

To do: take neat pictures of models, prepare & set up show case. . . under
way

This is a typical picture of the workshop.

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 Self-built models III
Topic: The IBM punch tape machines seen before. What could be the
practical part for the fellow students?

Idea: Build a binary adding machine!

Write integers in binary representation:
11012 = 1 · 23 + 1 · 22 + 0 · 21 + 1 · 20 = 1310
Addition works like in base 10:

. . . corresponding to 22 + 19 = 41

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In their tutorial, the students explain the piecewise addition and give the work
flow of a computation:

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 Video on the pantograph
By now, the Collection owns about 8 pantographs of different sizes.

Latest arrivals: Several donations of the Amt für Bodenmanagement Marburg :

It takes some practice and time to set them up. This led to the idea of having
an explanatory video!

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 Outlook: The mathematical city tour

Originally designed by future math teachers for outdoor school activities,

variable in length and topics, usually offered by future math teachers

Guiding idea: There’s mathematics everywhere!

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 Self-built models V
A Jacob’s staff is a simple device for measuring the height, already mentioned
in the Bible:

It consists of two pieces:

• the main staff is marked with graduations for length

• the cross-piece (also marked) slides up and down on the main staff

. . . Nevertheless, it takes a half dozen math students at least 20 minutes to

come up with a realistic height of the Math building
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 Digital resources
• Collection Homepage: permanently under construction, but getting bet-
ter. . .

http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb12/modellsammlung/

• Online catalogues: The Hermann von Helmholtz-Zentrum für Kulturtech-

nik at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin understands itself as an Information
Resource on Collections and Museums at Universities in Germany. It offers a
database that anybody can use for its models:

http://www.universitaetssammlungen.de/modelle/suche/sam/1203

Unfortunately, it doesn’t cover machines and instruments

• Use DAMM, the database of Dresden (compatible with the Berlin database):

https://mathematical-models.org/models/

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 My warmest thanks go to:
• Ramona Trusheim and Jens Winkler – teaching assistants (stud. HK)
working for the Collection for many years,
• all students who participated in the ‘Model Seminar’ over the past years,
• all janitors, electricians, mechanics. . . of the university who helped many
many times,
• the members of my research group who helped moving heavy stuff around,
• all museums and private persons who made donations – be it exhibits,
showcases, and, sometimes, even money,
• all University Faculties / institutions who entrusted some of their valuable
exhibits to our Exhibition,
• Volker Nienhaus, president of Marburg University in 2008, who was willing
to invest a lot of money into an invisible and almost inexistent collection,
• the Marburger Universitätsbund for its ongoing financial support,
• the ‘Oberhessische Presse’ whose kind articles on the collection greatly
contributed to its popularity 40
 The logo of the Faculty
√
A Barth sextic (1996) with 65 singularities (Φ := (1 + 5)/2):

4(Φ2x2 − y 2 )(Φ2y 2 − z 2)(Φ2z 2 − x2) − (1 + 2Φ)(x2 + x2 + z 2 − w2)2w2 = 0

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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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